Day: August 15, 2015

A lot of atheists maintain that we create our own meaning. Famous people such as Neil Degrass Tyson and Richard Dawkins have said as much, but for someone prone to existential crisis I’m not sure that helps.

When people ask what the meaning of life is, they are usually asking an objective value based question. Phrased better: what is the meaning of life, ultimately? But, there are no good answers to these types of questions. Look at some other value based questions. Why is there something rather than nothing? Why do people have to die? Why does everything change? Why do people and animals suffer? There just simply aren’t answers to these questions.

At this point, a theist usually balks. These, to them, are important questions requiring an answer, and the theist is likely to point to their particular religion for the answers. However, not every question or every sentence is logical. At this point, perhaps my math background helps. Take a look at this sentence: this statement is false. If it’s true, then the statement is false. This is a logical contradiction. If it’s false, then the statement is still false. If it is true, it false, and if it’s false, it is false. (Here is an article in case you are confused.) The statement cannot be true or false.

We are humans. We are used to human agents doing thins for reasons, but the universe and life events don’t work that way. If there is no human-like being running the show, it is very unlikely that objective value based questions have answers.There just aren’t. Now, I’m sorry, if this bothers people, but that’s the way the world is as far as I can tell.

Even I, would like to have answers. There is something deeply satisfying about having answers, but there aren’t always answers. I know how it can feel to lose a loved one at a young age, and it is hard not ask why. My advice? Just don’t ask these types of questions. Things like death and suffering are just natural parts of life, and it’s time we just accept that.

I’ve been watching Penn and Teller: Bullshit! It’s free on my amazon prime account. This show is supposed to expose hoaxes, scams, and the like. Bullshit! was my first introduction to Penn and Teller. Before, that my only real knowledge of them was that they were magicians and outspoken atheists with crass vocabulary.

I can get passed the cornucopia of foul language; although, I would prefer not to be exposed to it. Still, this is not a show with an adequate amount of reason. For example, there is episode on environmentalism. They claim that the environmental movement is entrenched in political movements such as socialism. (This maybe true.) They then conclude that, while discussing socialism may be beneficial, hoaxes are not. Guess what the hoax is: global warming and other environmental concerns. Although they do a good job of making certain people look stupid, they conclude that there isn’t enough evidence for climate change.

What the actual hell? Maybe Penn and Teller should have spent more time looking at the data and less time making 20-something hippies look stupid.